In 1954 Reed & Barton engaged the services of the renowned Italian architect and designer Gio Ponti to create a sterling-silver flatware pattern for mass production. The commission was part of a design program that Reed & Barton developed in the 1950s to strengthen the company’s catalogue of silver designs responding to contemporary trends. Previously, most Reed & Barton designs were based on traditional styles inspired by historical periods, but executives understood that, as prevailing tastes evolved in the postwar era, the company needed to adapt in order to solidify their position as a leader in the silver industry.¹ Reed & Barton’s decision to employ Ponti was likely influenced by his recent flatware designs for the company Krupp Italiana in Milan and the experimental flatware he exhibited at the Milan Triennale in 1951.²

 

Ponti drafted six different fork options for Reed & Barton, from which the company selected a modernist design with a diamond-shaped handle. Ponti then created a three-piece place setting based on his initial rendering. The result was strikingly modern, with sharp, angular features and unusual dimensions. In comparison to traditional flatware designs, the fork and spoon were oversized to make each piece of the place setting the same length. However, Reed & Barton felt that this early version of the design was too avant-garde for the American public. Ponti’s designs underwent four years of revision and were ultimately adapted for production by Reed & Barton staff designer Robert H. Ramp. To facilitate production and ensure the commercial viability of the pattern, Ramp softened the angularity of the design, eliminated the incised line across the middle of the handles, and added a reflective triangular facet at the end of each handle. He also lengthened the knife, reverted the blade to a traditional shape, and shortened the spoon so that the place setting was more in keeping with standard flatware proportions.³ The final product is more conventional than Ponti’s original proposal but retains the essence of his design. Inspired by his fascination with the rhombus, a form to which Ponti continually returned in his work, the Diamond pattern is exemplary of Ponti’s postwar design aesthetic.  

 

Ponti studied architecture at the Politecnico of Milan and opened his first practice in 1927 alongside architect Emilio Lancia. In 1928 Ponti cofounded Domus magazine with Gianni Mazzocchi and served as its editor for more than four decades (1928–41 and 1948–79). Ponti held significant influence over international architecture and design trends in the postwar era. He is also remembered as the inventor of the Compasso d’Oro, the award recognizing achievement in Italian industrial design. —Sarah Marie Horne